vol. 2026, ed. 04

ACT Disaster Planning Guide
Prepare your employees, office, data, systems and clients
Disasters, whether natural or otherwise, can strike at any time and without notice. The best line of defense is offense—prepare your employees, physical office, data, systems, and clients with procedures to implement when disaster strikes. Be prepared to serve your clients without power, phone, Internet, or even a physical office location. ACT updated their Disaster Planning Guide to help your agency be prepared. Contents are separated into sections on what to do before, during and after a disaster.   (+ More...)

See also:  View/download our Agents' Guide to Selling Flood Insurance

CIC UPDATE: James K Ruble seminar April 8-9 in Myrtle Beach
DO YOU NEED YOUR CIC DESIGNATION UPDATE? We have some great topics and great speakers lined up this spring for our Ruble Graduate Seminars in Myrtle Beach, April 8-9. Topics include liquor liability, contract analysis, CGL for contractors, certificates of insurance and additional insureds. Earn up to 16 hrs CE credit, including required Ethics hours. Room block expires this week! (+ More...)

Read the latest edition of SC Agent & Broker magazine
Winter 2026 edition
The latest edition of SC Agent & Broker magazine is hitting mailboxes, but you can also read it online. Our winter edition spotlights last year's annual convention as well as upcoming educational opportunities for the new year and offers congrats to our newest designation conferees. Also features articles on predictions for the industry and how contingent compensation is factored into agency acquisition as well as a spotlight on the new SC Hands Free Law. If you are interested in advertising in SC Agent & Broker magazine in 2026, please contact Kim Fiene, (608) 210-2977, of Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin.   (+ More...)

NEW MEMBER BENEFIT: Access weekly State House reports by McGuireWoods
Find them on our website in Advocacy section, SC Legislature page, member login required
Each Friday, McGuireWoods Consulting, on our state government affairs team, provides weekly State House updates on the activities of both the House and Senate. They have allowed us to share these weekly reports with our membership. The Newsletter gives a narrative overview of the week with images and highlights, and the House Actions and Senate Actions documents chart the progress of specific bills to becoming law along with links to the full bill text. These bills won't necessarily be referenced in the newsletter. As always if you have questions about any of the bills that pertain to the insurance industry, feel free to contact IIABSC President/CEO Becky McCormack. Member login required for access.  (+ More...)

Spring Conference pre-registration closes March 13
Popular event to be held March 25-26 in Columbia, SC
Spring Conference returns to the Columbia Metro Convention Center in downtown Columbia March 25-26. Registration is still open. Exhibit hall and hotel block have sold out. Pre-registration closes March 13. Our Spring Conference offers valuable opportunities for insurance professionals to multiply their visibility, increase their knowledge, enhance industry resources, and engage with exhibitors, new contacts and colleagues. This year's lineup includes updates on agents' cybercrime vulnerabilities, AI and agency automation, state industry issues and agency standard operating procedures. View updated agenda and session topics on our event webpage. (+ More...)

COLUMBIA AGENTS: FREE Local Agent Networking Event March 24
Happy Hour next month at Steel Hands Brewing in Vista Downtown Columbia
Midlands-area Agents: Join us for a networking happy hour brought to you by our award-winning Young Agents Committee on March 24, the evening before Spring Conference, at Steel Hands Brewing (705 Gervais St., Ste. A) in the Vista of Downtown Columbia, SC. Thanks to our generous sponsors, this event is FREE to all agents! Plan to join us after work starting at 5:00 pm for some food, drinks and good times with fellow Big "I" agents, industry leaders and event sponsors (Special thanks to Safeco Insurance/ Liberty Mutual BL/ State Auto Insurance Companies). This event is open to agents of all ages. Please also encourage your agency's Young Agents to attend, meet our Young Agents Committee leaders and get plugged in with our SC YA Program. We'll be giving away a free registration to this summer's Young Agents Conference among other drawings. BRING BUSINESS CARDS FOR DRAWINGS!  (+ More...)

Achieve your 2026 Goals with the IA MBA program
Program starts April 8 | live sessions to be held on Wednesdays
Want to elevate your team’s success in 2026? The IA-MBA is a streamlined 10-week learning and networking program designed for independent insurance agents. Learn critical skills in people and financial management that will drive real results. You'll learn organizational leadership to align your team to achieve shared vision and goals, people management strategy to empower your entire team and financial mastery to build a more profitable business. This program kicks off April 8 and pairs self-paced learning with bi-weekly live sessions with your peers and industry experts for real-time coaching and discussion. Participants have lifetime access to course materials. (+ More...)

Trusted Choice GIVE Movement seeking TOP AGENCY GIVERS
Week of giving in early June to benefit Make-a-Wish South Carolina
We are participating once again in the Trusted Choice GIVE Movement this June 1-8. This annual project led by our young agents encourages agencies, affiliates and partners to come together for a week of giving to benefit an incredibly inspirational and worthy cause. Together our donations have the potential for life-changing impact for children and families in South Carolina through Make-A-Wish South Carolina. Our goal in 2026 is to raise $30,000 - enough to grant the wishes of FOUR local children. Donations will be accepted all year long, and agencies and companies who participate as a TOP AGENCY GIVER will be spotlighted throughout the campaign and especially during our week of giving. TOP GIVERS are those individuals and organizations who go above and beyond and donate $1,000 or more to the campaign. (+ More...)

Catalyit Agency Compensation Survey still open for those who haven't completed it yet
Results dashboard available for those who have completed the survey
Agency Compensation 360, the multi-state compensation survey built specifically for independent insurance agencies and powered by Big “I” associations, is back open for those agencies who did not get to complete it the first time around. Agencies that have fully completed the survey can explore detailed compensation and benefits benchmarks for South Carolina and across the nation on their results dashboard.

Gain insights into:

• Pay and benefits trends by role and region
  
• Staffing and retention challenges
• How your agency compares to others

Agencies must complete the survey to access results! Your input will help create a more robust, insightful results dashboard that benefits you and the entire independent agency community. (+ More...)

See also:  Have you taken the Catalyit Tech Survey? 2026 State if the Tech Report coming soon 

Use ABEN discount code for 25% off
Use code SPRING at checkout
Use discount code "SPRING" at checkout for 25 percent off our entire ABEN catalog at iiabsc.aben.tv. Discount cannot be applied to bundled courses. Courses are available live or on-demand and can be browsed by category or by broadcast date.   (+ More...)